Infected
by Psybee
Summary: AU - With a small prick Minamo suddenly has to deal with a sadistic hit-woman and hired men that want to kill her, a mysterious old man that wants to save her and something that is changing her, and three others, from the inside out. All in all, not good.
1. Let the Experiment Begin

**Some little notes before this experiment begins:**

Welcome one and all to my latest project. Unlike my other stories on other sites (and this one) this story will probably be one of my darker ones. Our lovely characters will be out-of-character at times but as the story progress or hell at the end of this chapter (or the next one) you'll understand why.

I am deeply sorry for the delay. I was finished with chapter in early March but as some people know I've been in and out of the hospital and doped up on medication for the past couple of weeks with no laptop. Don't bug about grammar. I don't have a beta reader though one would be nice.

This is an **AU **an as for the time frame of this story I would say this would be the girls second year, a couple of weeks before summer vacation.

There will be gore. There will be death. There will be a very large portion of violence. The story will be vague at times. This is done on purpose.

That is my warning.

Enjoy...

* * *

_**Infect**(verb) - _

_1**:** to contaminate with a disease-producing substance or agent (as bacteria)_

_2 a**:** to communicate a pathogen or a disease_

_3 a__**:** contaminate, corrupt_

* * *

**Saturday, 11:28 PM**

The philosopher and playwright Lucius Annabela Seneca once said _"Where the fear is, happiness is not."_

If Minamo Kurosawa ever lived through her present nightmare she would probably agree with the dead Roman. Instead of being at home pondering what she was going to do on her day off, she was currently living out every person's fear: knocked unconscious, kidnapped, blindfolded and chained to a chair. She saw nothing and could do nothing with her arms bound and the heavy padlock sitting on her lap.

Her head perked up when she heard slow footsteps, most likely of her captor, come towards her. The footsteps stopped and a pair of gloved hands removed the blindfold. The gym teacher rapidly blinked as her surroundings came into view. She was in some sort of warehouse and judging from the dust that caked a nearby window the building hadn't been used in a while. "Ah. So your finally awake." Her eyes widened at the new voice. She expected her captor to be a thuggish-looking man. Instead she was shocked when a man with clean cut hair and shaved face stood before her. His dark skin was a dead give away that he was a foreigner. The man, dressed in a business suit smiled eerily at the gym teacher, turned and grabbed a nearby chair. He placed the chair next Minamo and sat down.

"I am a very intelligent man..." began her captor as he pulled out a large briefcase from the shadows. From where she was she could see what was inside the briefcase: seven medical syringes, four of which were empty as well as other equipment. The remaining three were filled with a pink and green substance that actually glowed in the dim lighting. The man took out a filled syringe and pushed down on the plunger making sure the needle was not blocked.

"Very smart...and very evil." He took out a brown bottle as Minamo attempted to squirm away from him. Dark green eyes noticed her small movements and lightly chuckled. "I am a scientist and I will do anything to ensure the safety of my research. And that is where you come in Minamo Kurosawa." At the mention of her name she stopped moving and looked at him curiously.

"Yes, I know you. I know almost everything about you: when you were born, where you got you education degree, where you work, and even your friendly relationship with one Yukari Tanizaki though from what I've seen it is anything but 'friendly.'"

The 'businessman' took out a cotton ball and opened the brown bottle. "But enough about you. You're probably wondering why I have you here. Like I mentioned before I am a very intelligent man. I have been doing research for years and have finally succeeded in where my coworkers have failed." He placed the cotton ball on the mouth of the bottle and tipped it, wetting the cotton ball as he continued his speech, "Sadly there are a few of my colleagues in the science community that are terrified at what I have achieved. So afraid they have hired people to kill me and destroy my work."

The foreigner then rolled up one of Minamo's sleeves. "I know I can't avoid death but what I can do is hide my work. That is why I kidnapped you from the school." He rubbed a small area on the gym teacher's upper arm. "Hopefully, you will survive."

The man took the syringe and inserted the needle into the woman's arm resulting in a hiss from the gym teacher. The plunger went down and the needle came out in a matter of seconds. "Good...good...excellent." What her captor did next confused her. He put the briefcase on the ground, got to his feet and removed padlock and the chains that bounded Minamo to the chair. Once she was free Minamo jumped off the chair and looked at the man afraid that he might go for her again. Her former captor just smiled and pointed to something across the room. She turned and saw that he was pointing at the staircase leading downstairs. Minamo did not look back at the man as she sprinted towards the stairwell.

As her hand rested on the railing, a sudden chest pain caused her to fall to her knees. She grabbed at her chest as the pain spread rapidly throughout her body. Her eyes dilated and contracted simultaneously. The stairs before her seemed to sway left and right while her body's temperature started to fluctuate. First she felt like someone had dumped her in Hokkaido in shorts and a T-shirt and then it felt like she had traveled all the way to Death Valley in snow jacket.

As she used the railing to pull herself up she could hear the footsteps of her former captor slowly approach her from behind. Fearing she would be held against her will again her mind beckoned her to move away from the danger. Minamo pulled her body down one step but with the dizziness and the fact that her heart decided to work faster than normal caused her to trip and fall down the stairs. Her body bounced once on the stairs and landed hard a few feet away from the landing face down.

When she opened her eyes the pain increased and caused her to cry out. She slowly turned over only but all that did was intensify the pain. It soon be came hard to breathe. The last vision she saw was her captor looking down on her with a wide grin. Then all went black.

* * *

**Ring...**

**Ring...**

**Ring...**

Minamo groaned when she opened her eyes her head pounding every time she blinked. 'What a strange dream. I'm never watching television before bed again.' Her headache grew when her cell phone went off. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the loud contraption.

"Hello," she answered in an annoyed and tired tone while she massaged one of her temples.

"Is this Kurosawa Minamo," a male's calm voice asked. She did not recognize the caller's voice at first glance and just assumed that it was just a telemarketer. "Yes. Who are you?" "Listen to me carefully." The calm voice was replaced with a worried one. "You need to get out of there before the mercenaries arrive and kill you." The gym teacher sat up quickly and realized she was still in the warehouse with...the man! She dizzily got to her feet, wincing when she put her weight on one leg and searched for her captor but he was no where to be found. Minamo put the phone to her ear and demanded, "Who are you?"

The man sighed before responding. "I'm a friend. Now no more questions if you want to get out the warehouse alive." _'How did he know I was here? Was this the person who injected her with who knows what?'_

"How did you-"

"Currently tracking you. The internet can be a very powerful tool," the caller interrupted, "Now do not hang up until I say so. There should be a window near you." Minamo looked around and saw a row of windows and limped towards them. Using the sleeve of her jacket she wiped off the grime so she could see out into the night.

"I'm at the window."

"Look outside, carefully and tell me what you see." Minamo peered outside and saw a normal city night. Businessmen going drinking, young people going out to clubs, married couples going out to eat...and something very strange.

"I see three black vans stopped outside the building," Minamo reported. Three side doors opened and several people jumped out. "There are men in bright shirts coming out."

The gym teacher heard the man on the phone say something in English before muttering, "They're already there..."

Now Minamo was worried. If the man on the phone was right these men were coming to kill her. "What do I do," she asked panicking. In her distress she dropped the phone and watched the men enter the building.

"Hey...hey. **HEY**!!" The man on the phone's yelling shook the gym teacher from her worrying. "Hey. I told you if you listen to me you'll get out of this alive. Okay?"

Before Minamo could say anything her mystery caller continued. "Now then, the warehouse has a roof door. See if you can find a way, like a set of stairs, to the roof."

Minamo walked to the staircase she stumbled down before and slowly pulled herself up the stairs despite the protest of her tired, sore body. She reached the room where she was being held and realized it was the top floor of the warehouse when he could not find another staircase. She hobbled around the large floor and found a door in the corner of the room. With little difficulty she pushed the door open and was welcomed with a gust of cold air and a sneezing fit caused by the kicked up dust.

"I'm on the roof," Minamo said into the phone.

"Good. Now look around. You should see a billboard." She turned around and saw a large green cat on an even larger billboard. The building it stood on appeared to be a story or two smaller than the warehouse.

"I see it."

"Great. You need to jump to the other building."

Minamo gawked at the man's instructions. "Are you _**insane**_," she all but screamed into the phone, "That's like a 13 foot jump and a 4 story drop."

"It's actually only 8 feet, and one and a half stories," calmly replied the caller. "And you're a gym teacher. This should be a piece of cake. I'll call in the next five minutes." And with that the line went dead.

_'How does everyone know about me?'_ Minamo walked over to the ledge and looked down at the darkness. _'Two options: I stay here and get killed by the so called mercenaries or I can try to jump and end up a splat in the alley.'_

She put her cell phone into a back pocket as she walked to back to the roof door. The gym teacher took a deep breathe before taking off in a mad dash towards neon billboard, ignoring the stabbing pain in her leg. At the edge of the roof Minamo jumped. She went sailing between the two buildings and cleared the gap though from her point of view she was only halfway across. It wasn't until she landed hard on her right side did she feel safe.

Minamo moaned as she attempted to get up but her body just refused to. Her head just didn't feel right. She gingerly touched the back of her head and gasped when she saw her hand wet and painted red. The gym teacher stared in shock at the sight of her own blood, not even hearing the annoying generic ring tone went off. She slowly rolled onto her stomach and weakly got onto her hands and knees. That's when she finally heard the phone ring. She pulled it out and pressed the 'talk' button.

"Great," said the mysterious caller. "You're alive."

"I t-think I'm in trouble." She looked down and saw the neatly formed puddle of blood.

"My head…"

"What happened?"

"The blood…"

"Listen to me. You need to stay **calm **and you need to get off of that roof. The mercs are probably making their way to the top floor. If they get to the roof and see you they will kill you. Now get on you feet." Minamo scowled in pain at the man's commands.

"Who are you to tell me to be calm. I've been attacked, stuck with who knows what and I've just jumped thirteen feet. My body hurts and my head has been cracked open on this pavement! Why should I listen to you anymore!!"

"SHUT UP! You need to listen to me to stay alive." Minamo was about to interrupt when the caller continues, "So they don't find out that your mother lives in Wakayama." She was stunned into silence. "W-what…how..?"

"There should be a door right in front of you. If you want your mother to be unharmed then please **GET INSIDE**." All Minamo could think was about her mother and what she was going to do to the man on the phone if she ever found him. She slowly got to her feet and stumbled towards the door. It open slowly and Minamo entered an empty room with smudge windows. On the opposite side of the room stood a lonely elevator.

Minamo quickly closed the door and slumped to the floor, her head throbbing in pain.

"Minamo," asked the caller, "where are you?"

"In a room with windows and an elevator."

"If there are windows, stay away," warned the caller, "they might be searching."

She peeked outside and looked on in fear as six men appeared on the roof of the warehouse, searching for something. The caller was actually right but instead of being relieved Minamo just grew more scared. "I see them." Seconds later they disappear apparently not finding what they were looking for.

Minamo soon heard what appeared to be the clicking of computer keys on the other side of the line but could not be sure. "Okay Minamo. You are currently in the Seibu department store in Shibuya. That elevator should take you to the ground floor."

"What if the men are there waiting for me?"

"This is why you need to act calm. I know you are in a lot of pain but if you show any sign that there is something wrong you will draw attention to yourself and that willl draw the men to you. How is the wound?"

Minamo touched the back of her head with her free hand and winced. When she pulled her hand blood coated her hand but not as much as beore, a clear sign of the wound healing.

"There is still blood but not alot."

"What are you wearing?"

"_**Excuse me**_?!?"

"If you're wearing light colors you will have a harder time getting out there unnoticed."

"Black sweater and pants."

Minamo heard the caller sigh in relief as she entered the elevator. "Good, good. The hard part is over. Now listen to me carefully Minamo. You were not the only one infected. There are others - three to be exact but I have found them. Two of them are located at the school you work at, on the second floor." The elevator ding! and shoppers entered the box causing the gym teacher to move back into a corner of the small box. "When you rescue them, call me and I will send you the address of the third. When you get them take them to your house."

"But won't the mercenaries find us there," she asked softly making sure not to draw attention.

"That's the beauty of me getting to you so quickly. The mercs don't that you and I were also infected. But they do know about the other three."

The elevator stopped this time on the ground floor and everyone got out including Minamo who started walking towards the exit.

"Good luck," said the caller before hanging up and leaving Minamo with the dialtone.

* * *


	2. And then there were four

Author's note: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry this is so late. Family can be a bitch. Reviews are nice.

**Beta'd?: **No. One would be nice though

* * *

**Saturday, 12:09 AM**

Night seems to instill fear in people. Familiar places can seem foreign when bathed in darkness. A safe haven, such as a school, suddenly turns into a place where terror reign. And it was safe to say the shadowy figure who ran up onto the property was very scared. Minamo leaned on the wall next to the front closed gates, eyes closed and out of breath.

She wished this was all a dream; that she didn't just run fifteen blocks with cuts and bruises all over her body in order to save a couple strangers from mercenaries who want them dead. The swimming coach opened up her eyes and expected to be staring at her ceiling, having waken up from her horrible dream. Instead she was staring at the red bricks of the school wall.

This was no dream.

This was a nightmare that has somehow turned into reality.

And two people in the building were in great danger.

Minamo tugged on the iron gate hoping that it wouldn't be locked. The groundskeeper didn't lock it when she was a student there and as it squeaked open, thanked God that they kept that tradition.

It took her less than a minute to sprint to the front door. The easy part was over. Now Minamo had to check around 15 classrooms a number of offices and numerous closets **before **the assassins came and killed them all. The front door to the building was surprisingly unlocked. She quietly entered the school softly closing the door behind her. Just as she started towards the first-year classrooms the school's PA system cackled to life.

"Hey Minamo. Good too see you're okay," echoed a familiar voice. The gym teacher snapped her head trying to find the mystery person who just laughed, "Don't worry, the school's security alarm has been deactivated by yours truly and I've hacked into the PA system. You guys really need to update it..."

"Who are you and how did you know I would come here?"

"You can call me Tony and like I've said before, I'm just like you. I was infected with whatever that crazy doc put in me. But I don't have time to answer the second question. You still need to save three people. Head for the classroom near the right side stairs." Minamo knew that room very well. That was her homeroom.

After running up the nearest flight of stairs and down the second floor hallway, she stood at the back door of her homeroom. Easing the sliding back door open Minamo glanced inside the room and was met with darkness but she could still make out the objects in the room. The classroom blinds had been pulled down and the normally neat rows of desks had been shoved to either side of the room with the exception of two that were in the middle of the room.

Beyond the chairs on top the teacher's desk sat her purse where she had 'left' it. Minamo could make out two figures seated in the center of the room as she entered the classroom, closing the door behind her. She quietly walked to windows making sure she didn't bump against the strewn about desks. When she got to the windowsill she opened one of the blinds which brighten the room a bit. She turned to face the strangers but her heart fell into her stomach at what she saw.

Strangers were not sitting in the chairs.

They were students.

They were girls.

They were her female students.

Tomo and Kagura.

One of them moaned, which one Minamo wasn't sure so she darted towards the nearest girl which was Tomo. The gym teacher undid the rope that bound Tomo and she fell limply in her arms. A quick check of her wrist revealed a steady pulse. "Just five more minutes," Tomo groaned softly. Minamo shook the girl slightly which caused Tomo to suddenly thrash about, trying to escape the teacher's arms.

"Hey! Calm down Tomo!!" Tomo stopped struggling and instead of focusing on the teacher, she looked over at Kagura and whimpered, "Please....help..her....He hurt...Kagura...bad..."

Minamo looked over to the other chair and saw that Tomo was telling the truth. Kagura was seated with her hands and body bound to the chair by the same rope that held Tomo. The teacher placed Tomo on the ground, went to the swimmer and checked her vitals. Unlike Tomo, who was almost unharmed, Kagura was sporting a swollen eye and a large bump on her head. Minamo undid the rope and the girl slumped against her. Minamo slowly pulled the girl to her feet. The gym teacher looked down at Kagura as she also began to stir. She opened her good eye and when she realized that she was no longer confined to the chair she started to thrash about in the older woman's arms.

"How are they Minamo," stated Tony's disembodied voice over the PA. "It looks like the girl on the floor is okay just in shock... What about the one in your arms?"

"Looks like a black eye and bump. I pray it's nothing serious." If it turned out that the younger girl had some sort of concussion that would mean a trip to the hospital and most likely blowing their cover. Minamo shifted Kagura so that the swimmer's arm was around her shoulder and looked over to Tomo, now standing, who was looking at the PA speaker in the room near the door..

"Who is that Kurosawa-sensei? Is he the one who did this to us?"

"Tony's the name my dear," the PA crackled, "and no, I am a victim like yourself. But enough of the pleasantries. I suggest you three get a move on. One of the cameras is detecting headlights from outside."

Minamo helped Kagura to her feet and the two staggered towards the door. "Tomo grab my purse and then help me with Kagura." The Wildcat retrieved the bag from the front of the room then ran back to help the teacher. She placed Kagura's other arm over her shoulder and the three slowly walked out of the classroom and started down the hallway.

When the trio reached a staircase, Minamo's cellphone blared in the empty hall. With her free hand, she pulled out her cellphone and answered it. "Hello?"

"Minamo?" The gym teacher recognized the voice as Tony's and noticed the tone of worry.

"What's wrong now? And why aren't you using the PA?"

"The mercenaries are here," he said over the phone in a hushed tone.

Minamo's heart leaped into her throat and would not go down. She was now afraid. Their only hope in getting out of this crazy mess was gone. She was going to die after all she went through, at such a young-

"**Minamo**." The gym teacher was jolted from her morbid epiphany, "You have no time to think about your death. You'll have plenty of time to think about that when you're about to die to do that. Now focus. And take slower breathes away from the phone. You sound like a dog in heat."

"Now that I have your attention, let's think. You're currently on the second floor, carrying an unconscious girl. You can't move as fast as normal and there are people coming to kill you."

"That's about it. What do I do," asked the desperate gym teacher.

"Go back into the classroom and lock the doors. I'll think of something." Minamo nodded, trusting Tony.

"Tomo we have to go back," she said.

"But," Tomo started to complain but Minamo was already pulling Kagura back into the classroom. The two carried their semi-conscious companion back into the room and the two sat Kagura on a chair. Minamo ran to the doors closing and locking both doors.

"What are we going to do," she whispered frantically into the phone, trying not to panic. There was silence on the line. "Tony?"

"I'm still here. Listen, the cameras show that they're coming in from the back. The classroom is located in the front right?"

"Yeah."

"What's below the window?"

Minamo peeked outside from the closed blinds and saw the tall plants that surrounded the building.

"Shrubs. Really tall shrubs."

Tony said nothing at first and Minamo feared that he had abandoned them. That was until she heard, "Happy falling."

It took her a couple seconds to understand what Tony wanted them to do. "Are you serious?!"

"Hey, I thought you didn't want to die. Besides its not that bad of a fall."

"Two stories!"

"The worst thing that can happen is that the fall can kill you."

"Thanks for the reassurance."

"No problem. Call me when you get to the third person." Then the line went dead. Minamo pocketed the cell.

"We're going to have to jump," she said to Tomo as she opened a window.

"But we'll get killed," stated the terrified schoolgirl.

"And if do stay here, those men in the vans will kill us," the gym teacher retorted. She noticed the look of doubt on the girl's face and sighed. She approached Tomo, placed her hands on her shoulders and said in a hushed and serious tone, "Tomo, I know you're scared. I am too. But if you want to survive this then you have to do what I say without a moments hesitation. If I tell you to jump you, need to jump. If I tell you to drive my car away from here, you need to get the keys and drive that car our of there."

At the mention of driving a car Tomo's eyes lit up. "I can drive your car?"

Minamo let out a small chuckle. "Only if I tell you to. Now you need to get out this window or you'll never have the chance."

Tomo nodded and heading to the windows. She pulled herself onto the windowsill, opened the window and before her mind decided that this whole thing was madness, Tomo was already plummeting down to earth and more specifically the overgrown shrubs. The landing was a bit rough, rougher than she thought and the shrubs were taller and thicker than she imagined but she was glad that other than the scratches caused by the foliage she was okay. Tomo heard Minamo call for her and she stuck her head out of the shrubs.

"You okay," asked the gym teacher. Tomo's response was a wide grin and a thumbs up.

"Okay get ready. I'm coming down with Kagura." Minamo walked over to the swimmer in the chair and pulled her towards windows. Getting Kagura onto the windowsill wasn't hard but trying to keep the girl from falling out of the window while she maneuvered herself onto the narrow window ledge was much harder. Before taking the jump Minamo lowered the blinds and closed the window, hoping to hide their tracks from the assassins after them. She wrapped her arm around the swimmer and eased off the ledge, letting gravity take its course. Seconds later Minamo was trying to untangle herself from the shrubs. Two pair of hands gabbed her shoulders and pulled her up and out of the shrubs. She fell back against the concrete floor. Looking up she saw the grinning faces of her students.

"Guess what Kurosawa-sensei! We're not dead! Can I drive your car," asked Tomo.

Kagura looked over at Tomo with her good eye as Minamo rose to her feet. "Are your crazy? She'd never let you touch her car. Right Coach?"

Minamo let out a sigh of relief seeing that Kagura recovered. "C'mon girls, lets get out of here. Kagura you okay to walk."

"My ankle feels a little sore."

"Okay. Tomo help me with her."

Once again Kagura had her arms around Tomo's and Minamo's neck and the three began putting distance between them and the building. They slowly crossed the teacher's parking lot and located her Toyota. She disabled the alarm and placed Kagura in the backseat while Tomo jumped into the front passanger seat. Once Kagura was secured, the gym teacher got into the driver's seat. She turned on the engine and slowly drove it out of the parking lot with the headlights off. As soon as the car was a block away from the school, she floored the gas and the car rocketed away from the infiltrated school.

Minamo was having a hard time concentrating on the road. She was going well above the speed limit, blindly cutting off cars, and almost hitting pedestrians. Minamo's hands gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white. Her only thought is to get to the last house. This person, totally obvious to what's going on, is now the target of people who want them dead for some unknown reason.

Minamo was brought out of her thoughts when a car blared its horn. She drove the car off the road and stepped on the breaks, bring the car to a dead stop. She needed to calm herself down. If she kept driving the way she was she would get noticed or even kill herself and everyone else in the car. Being pulled over by the cops would be bad and killing herself would be worse. The gym teacher took a few deep breathes and calmed her heart. Once she was calmed enough Minamo, guided the car back onto the streets.

"Kurosawa sensei," Tomo asked breaking the uncomfortable silence, "Where are we going?"

The car stopped at a red light and Minamo turned to the girls, a look of uneasiness on her face.

"To Yukari's."

* * *

**Saturday, 1:13 a.m.**

Minamo guided the blue Toyota into a quiet residential area and stopped it in front of a gray single story house. This was not Yukari's house. Instead of parking in front of her friend's house she decide to park the car a block away, just in case the mercenaries arrived while she was inside. She turned off the engine but left the keys in the ignition and looked at the two girls.

"You two stay here and keep your heads out of sight. If you hear or see anything strange coming from the house or the mercenaries get there before I come back, Tomo you are to drive out of here. Don't get out of this car." Instantly Kagura became worried.

"But Coach..." Minamo gave the girls a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to get us out of there in one piece," And without another word Minamo got out of the car. She calmly crossed the street not rouse suspicion and walked up to the small house. The light in Yukari's room was there and Minamo hoped that the mercenaries did not find her. That hope was crushed when she saw that the door had been kicked in. She slowly entered the darkened house.

In the dark foyer of the house Minamo tripped on something that felt like a long board. She grabbed the piece of wood and looked at it closely. It was a cricket bat that Yukari had spontaneously bought in order to instill fear into her already terrified students. Minamo gripped the bat and slowly heading up the stairs and towards Yukari's room. Every time she took a step up she expected the floorboards to creak and every time she was proved wrong. When Minamo got to the second floor landing, she found something so horrifying that she had to muffle her cry. Next to the stairs laid a middle aged woman. Her gray brown hair was bulled back into a neat bun. She wore a green sundress and a cooking apron. Her eyes were closed and her face was peaceful as if she were sleeping. This scene would have looked normal if not for the bullet hole in the woman's left temple and the blood seeping onto the floor.

The woman was Yukari's mother.

Nyamo pressed herself against the opposite wall, trying her hardest not to vomit and moved towards Yuakri's bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and she peered inside. Standing in the middle of the room was not Yukari as she hoped but a dark-haired female dressed in slacks and a leather trench coat. In the woman's right hand was a small gun, probably the same gun that killed Yukari's mother. Off to the woman's right sat Yukari tied to a chair with rope. Her face was bruised and slightly bloody. Her nose was bloody and there were cuts over her right eye. She looked tired and defeated.

"You know under other circumstances we would probably be friends," stated the woman in fluent Japanese, as she fiddled with the firearm. "I do want to apologize about your mother. She was probably a very nice lady."

If looks could kill the smoldering look Yukari was giving the intruder would have killed her three times over. "Well this is where we part ways." The woman aimed gun at Yukari's face. "Once again I'm truly sorry. This is just business."

The English teacher spat blood onto the woman's weapon. "Bite me," was Yukari's weak reply.

The intruder gave her a sweet smile and was just about to pull the trigger when Minamo made her presence known. The partially closed door swung open and as assassin turned to the noise, Minamo swung the cricket bat. The bat smashed against the woman's head with a tremendous force causing her to drop the gun. The woman let out a groan, stumbled sideways and crashed into the wall where her body slumped to the floor.

Minamo kicked the gun away the fallen body and dropped the bloody bat before walking over to her bound friend. As soon as she undid the restraints the English teacher took the cricket bat from the floor, walked over to her former captor and brought the bat down on her head again. Several small streams of blood began to ooze down the fallen woman's face. Yukari was about to swing the bat again when Minamo grabbed the bloody weapon out of the distressed teacher's hands.

"Don't do it!"

Yukari looked at the other woman in disbelief and tried to grab at the bat again "Are you insane? S-she…" Yukari looked at the bloody murderer on the floor, her shoulder sagging. "She killed my **mom**. I am going to _**avenge **_her!" Yukari turned, grabbed the discarded gun off the floor and aimed it the mercenary. Before Yukari could squeeze off a round, Minamo quickly placed herself between the woman and the gun.

"Yukari! Listen. This woman has 'friends'. A **lot**of 'friends' who will kill us if they find us here. I know you are grieving but we need to leave her now!"

"You know this person?"

"Not really."

"How do you know she has friends?"

"Because they tired to kill me too!" Yukari's gaze went from Minamo, to the gun and the the intruder. After a few tense moments Yukari finally lowered the gun and turned away from the the two. Minamo placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed it gently.

"We need to leave now."

"What about..." Yukari shook her hand that held the gun.

"Let's bring it. Just in case her 'friends' find us."

Minamo led Yukari out the room and down the stairs, past her mother's body. They were out the door in a matter of seconds and in the car. "Hey Yukari..." Tomo cheerful greeting died when she saw Yukari, bruised and battered, quietly slide into the backseat.

The engine roared to life and the car soon soared out of its parking space and down the street. Minamo took out her phone and pressed the 'Redial' button and the phone started to ring.

"Yes," asked Tony.

"Tony, it Minamo."

"Ah Minamo. Great to hear from you. Put me on speakerphone." Minamo pressed a button and then put the phone on the dashboard.

"What's going on Tony?"

"I can't talk for very long. I have found some pretty useful information I found but I can't say much now. I think someone bugged your phone."

"So what happens now?"

"Take them to back to the aparment. You must not leave the apartment at all. An associate of mine will meet you tomorrow."

"How will you know its your person?"

"Don't worry. You'll know," Tony cleared his voice before continuing,

"Girls, the easy part is officially over. Becarefull of the choices you make from now on. It could be the last one you make. I hope to see you soon."

_Click_

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Review.  
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	3. The Man in the Box

**Thursday, 12:37 p.m.**

5 days Minamo was eating lunch in the teacher's lounge wondering when Yukari was going to bother her again about going out for Korean barbecue.

5 days she wondered if she would ever get married and have kids in the future.

5 days ago she was just another normal person with an average life.

Now she was sitting in her apartment, next to the front door with a bat in hand. Ever since they returned from Yukari's, the only time the gym teacher moved from the door was when she took care of Yukari's wounds. By that time Kagura was conscious. Sore and beaten but conscious. While she dressed the wounds she told the three everything she knew. Minamo told them about the foreign doctor, about Tony and his instructions. Then she went to her room, came out with a metal bat in hand and sat down next to the door, one hand gripped tightly on the bat. Soon after their discussion Yukari and Kagura fell asleep in her bed. Tomo, who was seated on the floor, tried to strike up a conversation with the gym teacher but to no avail. Leaving Minamo to her thoughts Tomo turned on the TV and started to watch whatever happened to be playing. When she got bored Tomo began to flip through the channels for some time until news report had caught her attention.

"We reported to you this morning about two bombs that were detonated at a well known high school and a residential home. Now we have just received word that there were four casualties." As the newscaster continued with the details the pictures of the deceased displayed on the screen. Tomo saw her school picture as well as Kagura's and Yukari's along with a fourth picture of an older woman who seemed to resembled Yukari.

"So now you're dead." Tomo jumped at the sound of her teacher's voice. She turned her head and saw Minamo standing by the couch. The teacher's tired eyes were on the television. The report continued, this time showing teachers and students as they cried and consoled one another. People who could told the news crew their favorite memories about the deceased. The camera panned the grieving crowd and settled on a scene that Tomo wished she never saw. She saw her grieving parents holding up an inconsolable Yomi. Her face was red and tears streamed down her face. Tomo dropped to her knees in front of the TV and touched the screen.

"But I'm right here," she said in a whisper. Minamo walked up to the girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"But you're not. And she can never know. Or else..."

_They would go after Yomi to get to me,_ the school girl finished morbidly in her head as she touched tele-Yomi's check. Refusing to watch the scene anymore, Tomo turned the television off. She stood up, sliding Minamo's hand off her shoulder and laid on the couch, her back to the gym teacher. The teacher sighed, hearing the girl's quiet sobs, frustrated that could do nothing. She moved back to the front door sat back down next to the front door and fell into a light sleep.

Though she slept for a few hours when nudged awake Tomo, Minamo felt like she only slept for 10 minutes. she was surprised to see that both Kagura and Yukari had emerged from the bedroom and taken up space on the couch. Much to Minamo's relief some of the minor wounds they received had disappeared. since they were all in the living room Minamo told them about their "deaths".

But that was five days ago. Five long days ago. It was now Tuesday and it was clear that everyone was suffering from some form of cabin fever. Since they could neither go out to buy food nor order out, food supplies were running low. The day's events were the same: Tomo and Kagura were flipping through the TV channels looking for something to watch as they did for the last four days. Minamo was dozing lightly while Yukari paced up and down the length of the living room and when she didn't pace she joined her students.

But there is only so much a person can take before they snap. And today one of these people will snap.

"**THAT'S IT**," she declared, wringing her hair and jolting Minamo out of her light sleep and catching the girl's attention, "I've had it! I need to get out!"

The brunette started for the front door but before she could even reach for the doorknob, Minamo rose from the ground and placed herself between the door and a frantic Yukari. The English teacher growled and tried to get by fellow teacher only to be blocked.

"Move Nyamo." Yukari tried to push past her friend but instead was pushed back by her.

"You will not touch that doorknob."

Yukari scoffed and asked, "And what are you going to do about it?"

"This isn't just about you anymore. Anything you do, anything that any of us does affects all of us," Minamo said pushing the brunette back into the living room, "You may be dead to the world but there is a small percentage of people, like the people who work with the woman who killed your mother, knows that you are still alive. Now get your head of out of your ass get in the living room and-"

The chime of the doorbell plunged the room into silence. Each person visibly flinched when the bell sounded again. Cautiously Minamo looked into the door's peephole and spotted a delivery man. "Girls, go into my room and lock the door." As the girls left, Minamo walked towards the couch, grabbed the bat and tossed it to Yukari. "Take this and hide in the closet. If anything happens to me, swing away." Yukari darted into closet as Minamo calmed herself before calling out, "Who is it?"

"Delivery, miss," was the reply. The gym teacher took another deep breath before opening the door. Outside stood a young man wearing a black and purple uniform, looking at the clipboard he held.

"Package for Kurosawa Minamo." He stepped to the side and the gym teacher came face to face with the biggest container she'd ever seen complete with a latch and crowbar.

"She's in the shower. I'll sign for it." The delivery man passed her the clipboard and she signed under a fake name. He walked behind the box and using the hand truck, pushed it into the living room, not noticing Yukari and quickly exited, saying a brief goodbye. Minamo shut and bolted the door behind him before staring at the box. Yukari, no longer hiding in the closet, examines the package.

"So what do we do with this?" Minamo walked up to the box and looked for an address. "I see no return address and therefore we should leave it close."

"But then Tony would be so sad to hear that you were dead," said a deep voice that came from _inside _of the box. Both women stumbled towards the kitchen away from the kitchen.

"Is there someone in there," the gym teacher asked.

"There is someone in here miss, just like Santa Claus and the Easter bunny is real. Now could be a dear and use the crowbar to let me out? I've been in this box for three days and it's starting to smell really bad."

"I think we should torch it," suggested her co-worker. " Hey, I'm on your side. If you do," warned the man in the box, "You're signing your own death warrant and then who will help you?"

Minamo sighed and grabbed the crowbar, "It's not like we have any other choice. Besides, he said Tony sent him." The gym teacher stuck the metal tool into the wooden crate and pulled it back. Surprisingly the side of the box came off quickly. As soon as the piece of wood fell to the floor a foul scent traveled into the room. Again both teachers retreated from the box, covering their noses from the smell. When the worst of the smell had disappeared they look towards the box only to see a pale man, face first on the floor. From what they could see Box Man's face was covered in facial hair and he was clothed in nothing but a pair of black shorts with a large green duffel bag strapped to his back. Yukari stepped towards the fallen man and poked him gently but then jumped back when he began to kiss the carpeted floor.

Yukari leaned over to Minamo and asked, "Should I hit him?"

"No not yet. I want to see what he knows about Tony." Minamo slowly walked towards the man. The man noticed Minamo's movements, turned to her and bowed his head, "Thank you so much for letting me free. I know you have questions about everything but I need to get three days of gunk off of me. Could you please show me where is your bathroom?"

Minamo pointed to the bathroom and without another word the man scrambled to his feet, ran into the bathroom and locked himself inside.

"Okay, I can safely say that that was the least bizarre or traumatizing thing that has happened to me in the last five days."

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Forty minutes later the bathroom door opened, steam rushing out into the living room. When it finally disappeared, Box Man looked radically different as he stepped out into the hallway. Gone was the facial hair and shorts and instead stood a rather handsome man dressed in a blue suit and pants. He spotted Minamo seated on the couch and grinned as he walked towards her. "And now all-" His comment was cut short as he ducked to avoid the metal bat colliding with the door frame of the bathroom. He rolled towards the living room and ducked behind the giant box he came in. "What of 'I'm on your side' does not register with you," the suited man asked.

"How can we trust you," Minamo showing the man the butcher knife she held. The brunette with the bat started slowly walking towards him.

"Because," the bald man explained holding up his hands, "If I wanted to kill you I would have filled the box with explosives that were rigged you explode when you moved the latch. Or I would have brought a gun and just killed you all as soon as you let me out."

The gym teacher let the Box Man's words sink in, "Good point."

"So now will you put down the bat Yukari?" The brunette looked at the man confusedly. "How do you know my name," she asked lowering her weapon.

He looked at the woman and laughed, "Don't you know ladies? I am God. But you can call me Stan. Stan the All Knowing if you want to be formal."

Yukari rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You? God? Bullshit."

"Okay, so I'm not God. But I did hack into your school's computer so I have info on...hey," Stan turned and scratched his head. "We're short two. You didn't get them?" Minamo shook her head and called the girls into the room. When Tomo and Kagura walked into the room the bald man sighed in relief.

"Great and now may I have your phone Minamo?" The gone teacher tossed the phone over to Stan who promptly dropped it on the floor and stepped on it repeatedly until the phone was no longer recognizable or operational.

"Why did you do that," Minamo rushed over to the shattered pieces that used to be her cellphone. Stan just laughed and pulled out a small box.

"Don't blow a vessel. You're getting a new one." He handed her a new cellphone that look almost similar to her now destroyed one.

"Now if you would be so kind as to gather around the couch so we can get you down to business." Yukari and Minamo joined their students on the couch while Stan resettled himself on top of the large box. "So other than my name here's what I'm supposed to tell you: Japan is no longer safe with all the mercenaries coming in trying to kill you four so we're going to move."

Kagura raised her hand, interrupting the bald man. "Why don't we call the cops? I mean isn't this a job for them."

"In normal circumstances we would call the police but this my dear girl the circumstances are anything but that. Therefore we will not contact the police. Anymore questions?"

"How did you survive three days without the bathroom?"

"You don't want to know. Trust me. Anyway... what we are gonna do is get the hell outta town before the psycho chick can get to you," Stan said as he hopped off and then pulled out two suitcases and the duffel bag he was carrying, "Because what you did was the equivalent of hitting a tiger with a rubber band. Now who wants sandwiches?" He unzipped one and pulled out plastic wrapped sandwiches before passing them out. "Make sure you all are done by the time I'm done. Oh and you two." He tossed the duffel bag to Kagura. "Change out of your clothes fast." Stan grabbed the other suitcase and entered Minamo's bedroom. He was in there for less than three minutes before coming out and walking into the kitchen.

"I hope you all are ready," he said placing a black box near the television. "Why? We just got the sandwiches and the girls haven't changed yet," Minamo asked before taking another bite out of her sandwich.

"Because those boxes I just set up," he said as he patted the one sitting on the container, "Are bombs. And I just armed then and started the countdown timer."

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A/N: I have rewritten this chapter 12 times. A new record! Have not given up on this fic. Just busy and frustrated. Reviews keep me sane.


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